Kyly on the plinth!

11th August 2009

Coventry branch youth member Kyly Wilson transformed herself into a very noisy 'art installation' on Sunday when she used a prime slot on Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth to highlight the plight of young people in the current recession.

Donning a 'Nelson-style' hat and a megaphone, Kyly used her hour on one of London's best-known landmarks to outline the aims of the Youth Fight for Jobs campaign - watched during the hour by hundreds of onlookers including bemused tourists and an enthusiastic group of supporters from Coventry.

Her stint on Antony Gormley's 'One and Other' installation - where the artist has been asking ordinary people to apply for slots to occupy the empty plinth which would originally have been reserved for statues of kings and generals - spanned the much sought-after 4 to 5pm Sunday afternoon slot.

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The fine weather was an added bonus - icing the cake of a charmed campaigning run which began in June when Kyly herself, as a first time CWU Conference speaker, proposed a motion promoting the Youth Fight for Jobs.

Speaking to the CWU Voice magazine after her hour in the limelight, Kyly admitted that she hadn't been able to believe her luck when it turned out her application for a slot had been successful.

Exhausted but exhilarated by an hour of non-stop megaphone campaigning, she conceded that her 'act' couldn't have been further removed from that of the next 'plinth exhibit' - a man who spent the hour relaxing on a deck chair surrounded by a flotilla of rubber ducks.

"The guy said to he that he has a really busy life, so he was just going to have and hour off, explained Kyly. "That's really nice I suppose - but to be honest I saw it as an opportunity to milk the publicity - and I'm not shy about admitting that!

"It was hot up there, very exhilarating and my adrenaline was running so high I didn't really have time to be nervous.

"It feels a lot higher up there than it looks - but it only really becomes clear how high it is when you're going up in the cherry picker. I didn't feel scared, though, as I had the safety net so I knew that the only thing that would be hurt if I fell was my pride. That's taken enough dents over the years for me to not really give a damn!"

Kyly said her abiding memory of the experience will be the exhilaration of occupying such a prime slot, and having people cheering her on from below. "I could get addicted to that," she joked - admitting that in one sense the safety net had been a fortunate obstacle to test out her new found stardom with an impromptu attempt at 'crowd surfing'!

"That would have been an awesome way to end the hour - but would certainly have resulted in broken bones!" she said.

Asked about why she chose to wear a jaunty tricorn hat throughout the whole escapade, Kyly concluded: "It was a kind of 'Nelson thing' - but having looked more closely at his had I realise it's entirely different. It's a fabulous hat though - and I've wanted a tricorn for years - so this was the perfect excuse to buy one!"